Extirpate \Ex"tir*pate\ (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Extirpated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Extirpating}.] [L. extirpatus, exstirpatus, p. p. of extirpare, exstirpare; ex out + strips stock, stem, root.] To pluck up by the stem or root; to root out; to eradicate, literally or figuratively; to destroy wholly; as, to extirpate weeds; to extirpate a tumor; to extirpate a sect; to extirpate error or heresy. Syn: To eradicate; root out; destroy; exterminate; annihilate; extinguish. web1913

extirpate v 1: destroy completely, as if down to the roots; "the vestiges of political democracy were soon uprooted" [syn: {uproot}, {eradicate}, {exterminate}] 2: pull up by or as if by the roots; "uproot the vine that has spread all over the garden" [syn: {uproot}, {deracinate}, {root out}] wn